EPAA invites participation in designathon for NAMs-based classification system

The European Partnership for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EPAA) invites the submission of solutions based on NAMs to inform the development of a future classification system for systemic toxicity of human health based on the activity and potential systemic availability of chemicals.

• The NAM-based classifications should reflect levels of concern related to, but not synonymous with, the current classification system addressing systemic toxicity.
• The NAMs do not need to literally predict the outcomes of animal studies, nor are they expected to reproduce existing classifications.

Information about the “designathon” project is available at https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/calls-expression-interest/epaa-launches-designathon-human-systemic-toxicity_en. Resources on this page include a recording of a July 13 webinar describing the project.

EPAA will provide a reference list of approximately 150 chemicals, along with identifiers reflecting three levels of concern. The number of chemicals in each class (High, Medium, and Low) will also be provided, but participants will not be told which chemical belongs to which class. Submitters will be expected to propose prototype NAM-based solutions that categorize some or all of the chemicals on the reference list. In this initial prototype phase, specific data generation is not necessarily required, but rather ideas for a NAM-based classification scheme can be explored using existing information. EPAA will provide a reporting template, including guidance. Interested persons can email zvonimir.zvonar@epaaind.eu to request updates on the designathon.